Folks, things aren’t looking good. Ontario is in lockdown, vaccines are slow to arrive, and essential workers are being forced to choose between risking their health and sacrificing their wages. The premier, for all his appearances as a “man of the people”, doesn’t seem to get what Ontarians dealing with this pandemic need in their time of crisis.
So, let’s make that clear: people overwhelmingly want paid sick days. Polling indicates 70 per cent of Ontarians support five days of paid sick leave with the policy also having the support of all three opposition parties at Queen’s Park. A supermajority of people supporting a policy should be a surefire way to get it implemented. How then is our government so opposed to giving us what we want?
The answer, of course, is first-past-the-post. Doug Ford doesn’t care what a majority of Ontarians want because a majority of Ontarians did not elect him. Only 40 per cent of voters chose the Progressive Conservatives last election with the remaining 60 per cent split between the other three parties, all of which offered more progressive policies than the Conservatives.
Despite the many, many calls for his resignation, Ford’s career may be far from over. As much as you may think the backlash to Ford’s mishandling of the pandemic will hurt his chances at retaining the premiership, the truth is he does not need a majority of Ontarians to re-elect him in 2022 either. In fact, 338 Canada’s most recent projections for Ontario suggest Ford has a good chance of retaining a majority, even as he sinks as low as 28 per cent approval.
In times of crisis, when we look to our leaders for stability and support, we realize how few of us they actually represent. Doug Ford, before and during the pandemic, has used the power of the premier to implement dozens of Ministerial Zoning Orders, restructure Toronto city council, and refuse Covid-19 aid from the federal government. Despite having only won 40 per cent of the vote in 2018, his Progressive Conservatives have 60 per cent of the seats in Queen’s Park, and 100 per cent of the power of the executive. He has made that power felt, and yet not when people needed him most. No matter how much essential workers need the premier’s help during a pandemic, he does not need theirs to get re-elected.
A vote on electoral reform will be happening soon in Parliament!
NDP’s Daniel Blaikie will be presenting a motion to ask for a National Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform at the PROC (Procedures and House Affairs) committee.
To win this vote, we need six MPs to say YES to a courageous next step in strengthening Canada’s democracy.
Over 12,000 letters have already been sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the MPs on the committee urging them to support this motion on Electoral Reform.
Click here to send your own letter!
Watch our Webinar on PR & Climate Action
Did you miss our webinar last week? Joined by climate justice activists from Fridays for Future Toronto, we discussed the negative impacts first past the post has on the environment. From cancelling Cap and Trade to launching an unnecessary new highway, Doug Ford has implemented a number of unpopular policies that cause lasting environmental damage – despite receiving only 40% of votes. Watch the recording by clicking here.
Join our Outreach Committee
Fair Vote Toronto’s Outreach Committee is actively involved in connecting with other social, civil and civic organizations in our community to provide information on how Proportional Representation works and how it might further that organization’s goals.
If you are aware of or involved in any organization serving diverse and Indigenous populations, please help us by reaching out to the organization to discuss how PR can bring attention to their cause by allowing their members’ voices to be better heard in parliament.
If you would like help reaching out or are interested in joining the Outreach Committee, please contact Ian McNeil at im********@ya***.ca or on our FVT Slack.
Ranked choice voting is often raised as an alternative to Proportional Representation. The reality however is this system can lead to even more disproportionate results than First Past the Post and further entrenches two-party politics.
Take the recent Western Australia state elections. The result was a complete wipeout of the opposition with the winning Labor party receiving 90% of the seats despite only getting 60% of the first-round votes.
To make the results even more comically lopsided, the second placed National party won four seats with only 4% of the vote while the third placed Liberals won just two seats despite coming second in vote share with 20%.
Of course, RCV can work well in PR systems such as STV, but these results are a reminder that ranked ballots on their own are not the answer to abolishing First Past the Post.